


Four Times Ben Comforted Leslie and One Time They Comforted Each Other

by ashisfriendly



Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-01
Updated: 2013-09-01
Packaged: 2017-12-25 06:22:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/949700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashisfriendly/pseuds/ashisfriendly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The title is so long it practically is a summary.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Four Times Ben Comforted Leslie and One Time They Comforted Each Other

**Government Comes Back**

Chris and Paul had been making calls all morning. Ben had just been in his office, polishing off numbers and creating memos to let the returning staff know what was to be expected of them upon their return. A pleasant memo went to all the directors of the departments, letting them know who under their jurisdiction was still employed. New job titles were sent to certain individuals. As usual, he was bombarded with the terrible, soul crushing work he did so well, while Chris smiled over the phone.

As he was finishing a spreadsheet for Paul, Chris jogged into his office, letting him know he needed a break and would literally be back after a light jog. Ben just nodded, hitting send on an email. He heard Chris’ voice echo in the hallway, excited.

“Leslie Knope!”

He also heard Leslie’s returned greeting and her heels on the floor, approaching his office. He tried to look busy, busier than he actually was. He glued his eyes to the monitor and kept typing, even when there wasn’t anything to type into. Windows kept closing and popping up all over the screen, confused by his incessant work.

He caught her hair first in the corner of his eye, then the sharp red of her blazer. He struggled to keep his eyes focused in front of him, scared of the distraction of her pretty face and the cute way she said his name, stern and annoyed.

She stood in his doorway, obviously waiting for him to acknowledge her. It was a tense 30 seconds before he couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Leslie,” he said, as if her presence wasn’t startling at all, a tone he had gotten used to before the hiatus.

“Ron called me,” she started, “he told me to come down here, to come see you.”

Ben was taken aback by this, and it broke his gaze on the monitor. He looked at her, and his stomach churned. She looked tired, like this meeting with him may be her last straw. Like he may dwindle the entire cloud of optimism and hope that followed her around.

He wanted to give her a million dollars for the Parks Department and run away to Canada.

Ben started to speak but his voice cracked so he cleared his throat. He hadn’t seen her in weeks, not since he ran into her at JJ’s as she was picking up some waffles to go, hair pinned up messy. She had been cleaning out her attic. She smelled like dust and sweet cream.

“That’s all he told you?” His heart started to race. Was he supposed to be the one to tell her the government was back up and running starting Monday morning? He watched her nod, waiting for him to go on. When he still was too stressed to form words, she sighed, popping her hip to the side.

“Listen, if you’re going to fire me-”

“I’m not going to fire you.” He finally detached his fingers from the keyboard and faced her fully, hands clasped on his desk. He could tell her body softened, but she still seemed on alert. He tried to make his words calm and even. “As of Monday morning, the shut down is over.”

Watching Leslie ride the roller coaster of emotions that flooded her was overwhelming. Her whole body slowly came to life, joyous and excited. Her fingers tightened as her face slowly started to be overrun by a smile. The corners of her mouth extended up her cheeks and that’s when he noticed her lips were a nice pink color. He could see behind her eyes, gears turning, public forums being held somewhere in a daydream.

Then everything changed. Leslie’s face started to scrunch and her head dipped down quickly before she looked up, blinking. Ben watched her chest rise and fall as she tried to calm down. He realized he was standing when her cheeks turned a dark shade of pink and a tear fell down her cheek.

Oh God.

His pointer finger and his thumb gripped the lining of his pocket and his other hand felt very out of place all of a sudden. Ben tried to walk forward as she choked out a sob but he ran into his desk. He groaned and rounded his desk and walked up to her. One of her hands waved at her face and the other at him, to leave her alone. He wanted to do as she wished but his feet were planted and after a few seconds he actually grabbed the hand that was waving him away. Then she hugged him and the room turned upside down.

Ben tentatively smoothed his hands around her back as she nuzzled her face in his chest. He didn’t know what to say to calm her, but trying to keep his breathing under control seemed to help keep hers even, so he just held her and kept breathing.

**The Fight**

Ben was drunk. He hadn’t been this drunk since... he can’t remember when, but probably some time in college. There was an insane party his Junior year in his apartment. Trevor, his roommate, always wanted to throw a huge party and Ben of course never wanted to. So Trevor some how organized one of the campus’ biggest parties of all time right under Ben’s nose. Despite Ben’s best efforts to hide in his room, he was given a drink that night. One drink turned into 20 and Ben made out with two girls and was dared to touch Trevor’s ass and he can’t really remember the rest. Ben knew he certainly wouldn’t be remembering anything from tonight.

He had been wondering around the bar, sipping his Snake Juice. He had never felt so sociable, finding himself laughing with Donna, taking shots with Tom, and even helping Andy solve FBI cases that were hard to follow. At some point while Andy and Ben were sneaking around, they ran into April who was screaming Spanish at Andy. Ben watched, unable to move until Andy pushed his body into hers and his hand was rough against her chest as they kissed. Ben felt like a bit of a pervert so he staggered away, tripping over Jean Ralphio who was passed out on a chair, his feet sticking out into the walkway.

Through droopy eyelids he saw Leslie. All night he caught glimpses of yellow swirling with red. He would watch her dance, too close for his own comfort to Jean Ralphio and he would feel guilty when she would dance too close to Ann, both of them angry but still touching too much. He looked down in shame at his perversion and would move on to talk to some one or eat some olives. His stomach was starting to hurt.

But now she sat in a booth alone. She looked upset and warm. Ben wanted to kiss her, because he always wanted to kiss her, but now Snake Juice was pumping through his veins and kissing her seemed like a great idea instead the usual terrible one.

He put down his drink and ran his hand through his hair. Ben licked his lips and tried to walk as straight as he could up to her. Each step he grew confidence and tried new grins that were sure to win her over. Leslie still hadn’t looked up at him when he finally made it to the booth.

“Hey.” He leaned down to get her attention.

She jumped a bit and looked up at him. That’s when he noticed she had been crying. The skin around her eyes was puffy and pink and her cheeks were slick with tears. Leslie looked back down quickly. He saw her lips move but he couldn’t hear her.

Worry washed through him. He quickly sat down, stumbling over his foot and he almost landed in her lap. Ben mumbled a bunch of ‘sorry’s and tried to push himself off of her, his hand landing on her neck and awkwardly on her chest. He kept apologizing and flinging his body away from her.

“It’s okay,” she yelled over the music.

When he looked back at her, finally at a safe distance, she was smiling but tears were still falling from her eyes. His hands stayed in front of him, fingers open, palms facing her. Ben didn’t know what to do. She smelt like the sweet sting of Snake Juice and the aroma of sweet cream that haunted his many sleepless nights. Leslie took a breath and turned to him quickly and she took a glance at his awkward hands before yelling over the music.

“Ann is my best friend.” Ben only nodded. “She said I am not a nice friend but I am nice - I am pushing her, Ben. I am a pushing gal pal. For the greater good, Ben. Ben, the good, Ben.”

Ben kept nodding and he was trying to focus, he really was, but in her hours of dancing and disheveled drunken arguing, her top was low as ever and it was a constant struggle to keep his eyes up. He really was Ben the Jerk: unable to console beautiful, inspiring Leslie Knope, because he couldn’t stop staring at her chest.

Tears were falling from her eyes as she yelled, telling him about some sleepover the girls had months ago and how she hated all these guys she was dating. Ben awkwardly put a hand on her shoulder and swallowed. Leslie kept going. She told him about the time they went to a speed dating service and how none of the guys had cute faces or nice butts and then she told him about how Ann could soon be working at City Hall but Leslie had ruined it. She was talking a mile a minute and Ben couldn’t keep up. Brunches and bottomless mimosas, lunches spent in her office, lunches spent at the hospital cafeteria. Leslie was slurring through her entire friendship with Ann.

When Leslie got to the night Ann broke up with Mark, she started to lose it. He didn’t see how she had any tears left but she kept right on sobbing. Ben squeezed her shoulder and she fell onto his chest. Her sobs vibrated through him, loud and long. He gripped her tight because there wasn’t a reason not to. He felt one of her hands grip his shirt, the other gripped his tie. She choked her love for Ann into his chest while he smoothed his hand through her hair.

Ben tried to calmly quiet her, whispering that it would be okay. He wasn’t sure what would be okay, but Leslie could make everything okay, more than okay -- great and amazing. His whispers took a turn and he told her, quiet and shaky, that she was beautiful and she smelt good. As he mumbled to her she slowed her cries and after a few deep breaths, she pulled away from him.

Her face was damp and her eyes bloodshot but she was still gorgeous. He wanted to grab her face and kiss her, kiss away her tears, feel her warm skin under her shirt, feel her body over his. But, like always, this wasn’t the right time or the right place. In the bigger picture, there was never a right time or a place for them.

Leslie closed her eyes and he watched her let out a breath. Then she kissed his cheek, quick and gentle as if it never happened. He couldn’t stop looking at her, astonished by her actions and unable to move because of the heat traveling through him. She excused herself and soon he was being dragged to Donna’s car.

When he woke up the next morning, he remembered nothing.

**The Morning of Li’l Sebastian’s Death**

He should have known something was wrong because Leslie was still in bed when he woke up. He had only spent the night at her house for a few nights now, but she was always up before him, the smell of coffee wafting into her bedroom, waking him before his alarm.

But when his eyes fluttered open at the sound of his alarm, he groaned and turned off the beeping sound emanating from his phone. He snuggled into the blankets, missing the familiar smell of coffee and Leslie’s body wash crawling out from the bathroom.

It wasn’t until he felt the weight in the bed shift that he opened his eyes and saw Leslie’s body laying next to him. Her back was to him, covered to her neck with the blanket, her hair peaking out from the top, spread on her pillow. His first thought was that getting out of bed would surely be impossible now and his second one was that of worry.

“Leslie?” His voice was still rough with sleep but as each concerned second passed, he became more awake.

Ben heard her sniff and soon he was sitting up in bed, trying to turn her over. Her body was limp as he turned her and when her gaze met his, he felt every piece of his heart break. Her eyes were bloodshot and her whole face was pink and puffy. Her golden hair was plastered onto her tear stained cheeks. Leslie started crying at the sight of him, her eyes squinted shut as she shuddered.

He panicked. Ben was sure whatever was plaguing her was something serious. He wanted to ask about her mother, any other extended family he wasn’t aware of. Maybe something happened to some one in the Parks Department? He had a small notion that maybe there was a political assassination. Most of all, he worried about how he could console her at this very moment.

He picked up her body and pulled her onto his lap. He wrapped them both in the blanket and he held her. He whispered questions against her head, but she never replied as her body kept shaking and tears kept falling on his chest.

Ben cleared his throat. “Honey, what’s wrong?”

At his words Leslie just cried harder. It was the first time he called her by a common pet name, maybe he shouldn’t say it again. He tried to squeeze her tighter. He noticed the sun’s glow starting to fill the room, she hid inside his arms, not letting it catch the gold in her hair. He smoothed a hand over hear head, down her hair and circle on her back where it stayed as she choked out words.

“You called me honey,” she hiccuped. He didn’t know how to respond but luckily Leslie kept talking. “You’re so nice to me.” Her fingers dug into the skin on his shoulders.

Ben felt guilty for smiling but she made his stomach twist.

“You can tell me,” he assured her, soft and into her ear.

Leslie finally pulled from him, holding her own body, assuring Ben he could loosen his grip on her. He propped his forehead on hers and she held it there as she tried to take calming breaths. Ben wiped her tears with his thumbs and his vision blurred when she kissed one of them. He kissed her lips in gratitude.

A few moments passed, the only sound between them was Leslie’s breaths slowing and the sound of her sniffing. Ben kept his hands on her neck and his eyes on her. She licked her lips and took a long breath and Ben knew she was going to tell him. He was scared what this news might mean for her or what he needed to do next.

“Li’l Sebastian died last night.” She hardly got the words out before she fell apart again, flinging her body into him. He almost fell over but he cradled her.

His eyes widened. Li’l Sebastian. Of course, he discounted celebrity farm animals. Like saying it loud made it worse, she became an utter wreck in his arms. Her sobs echoed off the walls and shook him down to his core. He tried everything, smoothing his hands down her back, up her arms, kissing her temple over and over, but she just kept crying. He tried to tell her how happy he was now... in mini horse heaven. When he mentioned the people in heaven who wanted to have their picture taken with him, she managed a small giggle.

Just when he started to gravely consider the stages of grief Leslie would go through for this horse, he had an idea.

“What if you throw together a memorial service for him? I’m sure Ron would like that,” he suggested.

Her body stiffened and she sat up. When he saw her face, still burning red with wet cheeks, he couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.

“Everyone would love that.” She sounded sure and smooth. Leslie quickly wiped her cheeks with her hands before she scrambled out of bed, struggling through the tangle of the sheets.

She kissed him quickly and he felt bad stealing a glance at his grieving girlfriend’s breasts as she bent over the bed to do so. Then she was off, yelling different ideas from the shower, and lowering her volume in excitement when he joined her there. While she dressed, she simultaneously tried to find a piece of paper to write down everything, finally finding a legal pad and writing furiously with only one leg in her slacks. Ben couldn’t stop her but she was, as always, inspiring to watch. Leslie kept rambling and writing and as he was brewing coffee she walked up to him, hair done and ready for the day with a list of things she needed.

He looked over the list. As his eyes went down the page, they grew in size. Did that say marble replica statue? He shook his head, trying his hardest to keep his tone level and supportive.

“I think some of this wont be possible.” He didn’t dare look at her but he could feel her body stiffen from across the kitchen. He tried to recover quickly. “I think I can approve $500 for it.” That earned him a kiss and a sigh of relief.

**Watching Tom’s Video**

Ben was supposed to be in and out of City Hall quickly. He forgot his cell phone in his office and all he needed to do was go in and get it. Maybe say hi to Bill, the custodian, with a small wave on his way out.

But when he approached the Parks department, there was a small light on and the yellow glow pooling into the hallway made him stop in his tracks. He let go of his cellphone and he stumbled to catch it before it hit the floor. Ben’s breath was caught in his throat. No one would be here past Hall hours, in any department, besides a certain ex girlfriend who he was still in love with and dreamed about every night. Sure, he saw her all the time at work, even worked on things together, but it didn’t mean his heart didn’t break every time.

Ben decided to glance inside as he walked by because he must be some kind of masochist. When he saw her, her face was glowing a pale blue from her computer monitor. Her hair was pulled back but strands fell down around her face. He felt his heart breaking, his stomach twisting. She sniffed and that’s when the flickering colors of the monitor caught her tear stained cheeks.

Leslie hiccuped and wiped below her eyes before she hit the space bar. He heard a muffled voice from her speakers and she started crying, choking on her tears and cradling her face in her hands.

His whole body ached to hold her but the thought of touching her skin, letting her tears soak in his shirt, or the warmth of her body so near his made him want to throw up. Regardless, his legs moved and he was walking towards her and on his third step she looked up and everything felt unbalanced. Leslie’s mouth dropped and she quickly pushed the sleeves of her blazer across her cheeks and frantically hit the space bar. The screen stopped flashing against her beautiful face.

“S-s-sorry, i was just getting my phone.” Ben showed her his phone awkwardly as if she would think he was lying. “And I... I saw you in here.”

“Oh, yes, well, I’m fine,” she choked, her voice still shaky, tears still pooling in the corner of her eyes. Leslie smiled, trying to reassure him.

“Well, then. I guess I should be-”

“It’s just Tom made me this video, for the meet-n-greet last week.” As she talked she started to choke up again. “It’s really nice.”

A tear rolled down her cheek and he caught it with his thumb and he swore they both stopped breathing. After a moment he broke away and rolled her tear between his thumb and forefinger until his fingers were dry. He heard her take a few deep breaths while he stared out of the window into the courtyard where a raccoon scurried around picking up scraps of food from lunch.

“You can watch it, if you want,” Leslie suggested, “It’s really good.” He swallowed at the sight of her confident grin, poking through her emotions.

“Ok.” He smiled back.

Ben pulled up a chair next to her and they watched the video together. He smiled through Tom’s ridiculous narration, tilted his head towards Leslie when her smile flashed across the screen.

Leslie cried again, her smile fighting against her tears, in a mix of pride and happiness that made his heart light. Ben delicately slinked an arm around her and she snuggled into him and it pained him to feel her so close but it was equally hard to pull away. She hit the space bar five more times before she sat up and told him she should be getting home.

**First Wedding Anniversary**

Ben was trying not to notice.

Leslie had been somewhat distant the last few days. Last night at dinner he finally brought up her strange behavior and as usual he did it in a more blunt, untactful way. She quickly smiled and straightened herself over her plate of lasagna and reassured him that everything was fine.

He was afraid to push it again that night when she didn’t even run her hands along his sides, or tease the waistband of his boxers. Ben just pushed his chest into her back and wrapped his arms around her, circling his fingers across her stomach until they both fell asleep.

But now it was the day of their first wedding anniversary and she still wasn’t being her usual self. Ben was starting to wonder if this was all some kind of ploy for some big anniversary surprise but when he woke up there was no secret scavenger hunt clue next to his pillow or cooked breakfast at the foot of the bed. In fact, it looked just like any other day in their home, which could only mean one thing: something was really wrong.

Ben pulled a t-shirt over his head and pushed his feet into his slippers that Leslie insisted on getting him after he kept complaining about having cold feet on the hardwood floor. He crept slowly toward the stairs and smelled the coffee, warming his insides.

He slowed his pace when he heard her. He stepped closer to the railing and looked down. The top of Leslie’s head was shining from the rays of sunlight pushing into the room. She was sitting cross legged in his chair, one of his plaid shirts over her shoulders. The sleeves were too long and her hands were hidden as they rested in her lap. On the oversized armrest lay the box. Their box. The one that told her to run for city counsel. The one that led him to Washington. The one that helped him think about his future.

Now his heart was racing and his palms were sweaty. What was in the box? What was she planning to tell him? Nothing new was happening, no decisions needed to be made. Ben swallowed and before he could think it through he yelled her name, desperate and as if he was Ben Braddock at the end of The Graduate, begging for Elaine to take him back behind glass.

Leslie jumped and looked up at him and her pink eyes weren’t reassuring. She wiped her eyes as he quickly descended the stairs and ran to her. He kneeled in front of her, his hands on her knees. A ball was rising in his throat and he was being irrational but his head wasn’t catching up with every possible terrible scenario that painted itself in his heart.

“Leslie,” he choked.

Her eyes were wide and a tear fell down her cheek. He wiped it away and strained his body up to kiss where it had been. He sat back on his knees as he said the first thing he could blurt out.

“It’s our anniversary.”

Leslie smiled, so big and bright that his heart melted. She was happy to be married to him. He was ecstatic to be her husband. Every minute with her as his wife had been amazing and he was glad he wasn’t alone in that feeling. He felt his heart soften and slow against his chest. Leslie’s fingers slipped out from under his shirt sleeves and over his hands and she tightened her hold on him.

Without fear holding him back, he took a deep breath and kissed each hand, quick atop her skin.

“Why are you crying?” he asked.

She looked up and blinked, biting her lip. Her chest rose and fell in a deep breath. Leslie’s hands were squeezing his hard as she shrugged and shook her head.

“Just....” she swallowed and let out a breath of air with a small sob, “just scared.”

His brows furrowed, confused. He searched her face.

“Scared?” He let go of one of her hands and nestled his fingers along her neck, between locks of her hair. Leslie nodded. “Scared of what?”

Leslie smiled and shrugged. “Just this... scary and great thing that is happening.” Her eyes fell to the box and Ben’s heartbeat rose in his ears. He could feel the blood surging throughout his entire body. She let out a small chuckle between her tears, but she was still smiling. “This wasn’t how I pictured telling you.” He wiped her tears again before grabbing the box with shaky hands.

Ben opened the box slowly and his hand shook even more. His jaw slacked, falling open. He felt the lump in his throat rise and the tears stinging his eyes. He wanted to look up at her but he was scared of the tears fighting to push through his eyelashes, the choked sob coming up his throat, the tremble in his voice.

Instead it was her quiet voice that made him look at her.

“You have to say something.” He could hear the smile in her voice along with the desperation.

Ben flicked his eyes up at her. Up at his beautiful, wonderful, pregnant wife. The box made a loud thump against the hardwood floor as a tear finally escaped his weak eyes and he kissed her, her giggle against his mouth filling him completely. 


End file.
